A deputation of local
people waited on the Secession Synod on 11th October
1836 asking for services to be arranged. This was done and
the Seneschal of the time gave the use of the Court House.
In December the Presbytery were informed that the Bishop had
forbidden its further use and the Reformed Presbyterians
accommodated the new congregation. A committee of
Presbytery took charge and in July 1837 a site was sought and
ultimately promised, but it was not available until May 1838.
In the interval £100 was raised and building started on 22nd
August 1838. Progress was slow. Money was
insufficient and the Presbytery had to come to the rescue.
The cause was weak and lacking enthusiasm, and even in July 1840
at the union of the Synods it was still unfinished. The
united Church body decided to pursue with the idea of a separate
congregation and the meeting-house was completed, and on 7th
March 1843 the first minister was called. There had been a
Rev. John Allen working here at the start and old newspapers
indicate him as the first minister. Whatever his status,
he resigned in 1843 and Mr. John McKee (lic. Dromore) was
ordained on 7th
March 1843.

During Mr. McKee’s
ministry the manse on the present site was built, on ground
provided by the McKee family. The first manse had been in
Princes Street in the town. Mr. McKee died on 7th
December 1877 and was succeeded on 31stMay 1878 by
the Rev. James Rentoul formerly of Clough, Co. Antrim.
He died after a long ministry on 2nd January 1917.

The next minister called
was Mr. William John McMullan (lic. Rathfriland),
ordained on 1 Mar. 1917. He saw some service as a Chaplain
in World War I, but he was killed in a road accident on 30th
January1920, aged 28, after he had been demobilized. He
was followed by Mr. George Francis McQuitty (lic.
Ballymena) who was installed on 27th May 1920.
He was called to First Newtownards and resigned on 4th
November 1924.

The congregation then
called Rev. William Bates of Grange and he was installed
on 26th March 1925. He remained five years,
resigned on 24th June 1930 when called to Faughanvale.
The
Rev. Thomas Bole of Sixmilecross was installed on 20th
November 1930, but after only eighteen months he removed to
Donore, Dublin, on 5th May 1932. During his
short ministry the Church Hall was built on ground purchased by
Rev. James Rentoul. A Ballymena licentiate, Mr. Herbert
Mulholland, was his successor. Ordained on 29th
September 1932, he was later to resign on 25th
October 1945 when called by the Moseley Presbyterian
congregation in Birmingham. Then on 4th April
1946
Mr. Hugh Robert Cecil Moore (lic. Belfast) was ordained
and many structural improvements have taken place in his time.
The meeting-house was completely renovated in 1954. A
Minor Hall was added in 1961 and the Church Hall was extended in
1970.
Mr. Moore retired in 1984 and died on 14th January 1999.
Mr. Moore’s successor, the Rev. Alex William Boyd was
installed in
March 1985 and resigned in February 1998 when called to
Ballyhenry. The present minister, the Rev. Gary Trueman,
formerly of 2nd and 3rd Rathfriland, was
installed in Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church in
October 1998. During his ministry major renovations
were carried out and a new hall complex was opened in June 2003.
The Rev Scott Martin, Minister Emeritus of Anahilt and
Drumlough, retired from the united charge in March 1997. He was
appointed Pastoral Assistant at Banbridge Road in October 1999
and left at the end of August 2006. Raymond McKibben, a second
year ministry student at Union Theological College in Belfast,
has been Summer Assistant at Banbridge Road since the middle of
June and will leave on Sunday 17th September to continue his
studies.

Dr Lena
Morrow, a member of Kilmakee Presbyterian Church (Dunmurry) was
appointed Pastoral Assistant at Banbridge Road in January 2007.
A medical doctor by profession, Lena and her husband Merrill
were missionaries with Interserve in the Middle East from 1987
to 1994 and since 1995 Lena has worked at Belfast Bible College
where her duties included Director of Spiritual Development,
Tutor and Student Counsellor.

The following brief
history was compiled for an article in the Dromore Leader.

In October 1836 a
deputation of about 25 local people approached the Secession
Synod requesting that a second Presbyterian church be established
in the town of Dromore. This was granted and services were
initially held in the Court House. In December, use of the
Court House was discontinued and it would seem that the Reformed
Presbyterians (Covenanters), who held services on occasions in a
hall in the town, accommodated the new congregation. The united
Church body decided to proceed with the idea of a separate
congregation. In August 1838 work commenced on the present
church building. Money was not forthcoming and progress was
slow. The Presbytery had to come to the rescue and by 1841 the
church had been built. In March 1843, the Rev John McKee
was ordained and installed as the first minister of the
congregation of Second Dromore as it was then known. In the
early years of his ministry Mr McKee lived in a house in Princes
Street, now No. 17. In those days it was a detached house but
later it became part of the terrace. In 1850, a manse was built
at Ballymacormick on land owned by the McKee family.
During the short ministry of the Rev Thomas Bole (1930-1932), a
church hall was built. During the ministry
of the Rev Hugh Moore, (1946-1984) the
Church was completely renovated in 1954, a Minor Hall was added
in 1961 and the Church Hall was extended in 1970. In March 1984
building work commenced on the present manse and it was ready by
the time the Rev Alec Boyd was installed. During Mr Boyd’s
ministry (1985-1998) the Church was
re-roofed, rewired, recarpeted, pews
upholstered and a PA system installed.

The present minister, the Rev Gary Trueman,
was installed in October 1998 and during his ministry major
renovations have been carried out and a new hall complex opened
in June 2003. The Rev Scott Martin, Minister Emeritus of Anahilt
and Drumlough, retired from the united charge in March 1997. He
was appointed Pastoral Assistant at Banbridge Road in October
1999 and left at the end of August 2006. Raymond McKibben, a
second year ministry student at Union Theological College, was
appointed Summer Assistant in June and left on Sunday 17th
September 2006 to continue his studies.

Dr Lena Morrow, a member of Kilmakee
Presbyterian Church (Dunmurry) was appointed Pastoral Assistant
at Banbridge Road in January 2007. A medical doctor by
profession, Lena and her husband Merrill were missionaries with
Interserve in the Middle East from 1987 to 1994 and since 1995
Lena has worked at Belfast Bible College where her duties
included Director of Spiritual Development, Tutor and Student
Counsellor.

This article was compiled largely with the assistance of Dr
Robin Coulter, a former member of Banbridge
Road Presbyterian Church, now living in Lisburn. Much of the
information was taken from the Rev Hugh Moore’s book entitled,
‘Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church Dromore – A Place of
Worship’. To see the book online, go to the ‘Books’ section of
www.lisburn.com and click on:
Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church Dromore. '
A Place of Worship' .